Mourinho Will Be Box Office, But His Chelsea Return Should Be Greeted With Caution

There will have been few heavy hearts in the Spanish capital when Jose Mourinho’s exit was confirmed by Real Madrid last week. For in the past few months he has cut a frustrated, petulant and desperate figure to regular viewers of La Liga.

He has slammed officials, declined to take part in press conferences and alienated his players on a recurring basis throughout the course of a turbulent campaign. Their distain towards him has been obviously prominent in their showings both on and off the field. They meekly surrendered their La Liga crown and were well beaten in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League.

Despite such a poor season, Mourinho has remained characteristically defiant when talk turns to his performance as Madrid manager. He has made attempts to validate his own record, referring to Champions League semifinal appearances and Super Cup wins. And granted he has picked up a couple of trophies in his tenure at the Bernabeu, with the record points tally and subsequent title win the standout highlight back in 2012.

But this is Mourinho, and because of the stellar reputation he has built for himself, inflated expectation comes part and parcel. At Real Madrid, ultimately, he has failed to live up to them.

So as talk grows ahead of an increasingly likely return to Chelsea, it would be interesting to examine the mindset of one of the games most extroverted personalities. He is a wounded animal no doubt, and will feel he has something to prove after what he described as “the worst season of my career.”

In the same breath, he will not be coming in on a high. Just as he did when joining the club 2004 after winning the Champions league. In addition, the charismatic, charming and sharply dressed man that the English game fell in love with has seemingly been lost in his time in Madrid. When times have turned bad, Mourinho has represented a man lost atop a windy hill; dejected and alone.

Chelsea will certainly be in receipt of a very different manager this time around. But expectations will be just as heightened when he walks back through the door at Stamford Bridge.

After all, the fans are jubilant at the prospect of his return and who can blame them? Two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups make for some very happy memories. When all is said and done, Mourinho remains the club’s most successful manager of all time.

Not to mention the two Manchester sides, who have monopolized the top spots in the Premier League for the past couple of seasons, will also be starting out with new managers. Neither of whom have the experience of winning the very top prizes in European football.

So in many respects, it feels like the right time for Mourinho to return. But these accommodating circumstances could ultimately prove to be a hindrance for the “Special One”, as the pressure on him to succeed will once again be enormous.

Especially when you consider the success his predecessors have had. Roberto Di Matteo won the FA Cup and the Champions League, whereas the much maligned Rafael Benitez also lead Chelsea to European glory in the Europa League.

Remarkably, in spite of their respective conquests, neither manager was deemed good enough. Mourinho you suspect, as has been the case with all the Chelsea managers that have come and gone, will be held to the same standard.

Unless of course Roman Abramovich is willing to be a bit more slack with such an overwhelming fans favorite. And you suspect that if this fractured relationship to be repaired, there must be compromise on both sides. Abramovich must resist his impatient reflex and allow Mourinho to build another great Chelsea side. The Portuguese on the other hand, needs to surrender that he cannot always have things his own way a a club where Abramovich’s word reigns supreme.

Both men however, are used to getting exactly want. So compromise might not come easy. Especially if Mourinho, set to be on a reported weekly salary of £250,000, does not get off to a flyer, which could easily happen with a flurry of transfer activity to take place over the summer. If this proves to be the case, then Abramovich’s trigger finger could well be twitching sooner rather than later, even more so when you take into account their past battles.

The talk surrounding Mourinho’s return is that he is intent on building a dynasty at Chelsea. But looking at the evidence before us, is this really a feasible prospect? Mourinho is one of the most divisive figures in world football; controversy seemingly follows him wherever he goes.

As such, he has never been in a managerial role for more than four years. He is also walking into a club where managers are chopped and changed on an almost seasonal basis. These circumstances do not marry well if you are looking for some long-term stability.

There is also that old adage that managers should never go back. Mourinho, more than anyone, knows what he is letting himself in for at Chelsea. A prolonged spell of glory and triumph will see him emerge as one of the all time greats in the English game, but if he becomes a victim of Abramovich’s iron first for the second time, he could be made to look very silly indeed.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section or on Twitter: @MattJFootball

About The Author

Matt has been writing for World Soccer Talk for more than two years, contributing pieces about myriad topics and regularly lending his voice to the podcast.
Matt has covered games live for the website from a host of venues, including Wembley, London and the ANZ Stadium, Sydney. He is a regular at Goodison Park where he watches his beloved Everton, but harbours an unyielding interest in all aspects of European soccer.
You can get in touch with Matt via e-mail at [email protected] or on Twitter @MattJFootball

7 Comments

We love him wht ever happens in future no problm.bt we knw he wil neva flop,cos he’s always special.with him refs n clubs wil always be afraid of chelsea,which wil make refs nt to award dubious penalties against chelsea.after his reign at chelsea u could see hw dubious penalties were being awarded against chelsea.and again chelsea has lost de killer factor.clubs ar no longer afraid of chelsea again.special one wil restore respect to de club again in his second coming.

I thought Torres was a mistake, at his price. I think Mourinho’s return is a mistake…at any price. Reruns never satisfy. He and Abramovich will be butting heads before long and we know how that will end. Another rerun.

Lets face it Jose is good but not brilliant unless he has an open check book.
When Roman decided to tighten his fist, Jose got pissed off and they lost the title and he left.
This is the reason he should not go back to Chelsea, because it will happen again.

Teams like Man Utd would never consider a manager like him, because he just wants to spend spend spend.
If he joins CFC again he will be fired within 6 months.
Roman is a hard man to please.

Mourinho’s biggest strength is his ability to motivate his players. He is close to his players and they usually respond with good performances. As soon as things go bad though is when Mourinho struggles to get the best from his players.

At Real Madrid the players often asked questions of Mourinho’s tactics or lack thereof. Sergio Ramos publicly came out and said it was the manager’s job to find tactics that worked against the opposition implying that Mourinho didn’t work enough on the tactical side. For Mourinho’s methods to work he needs quality players which means having funds to buy.

In contrast someone like Benitez is not very close to his players and works more on tactics and a balanced system to get the most out of his players. Even with lesser talent he can devise tactics that can beat better teams. At Liverpool he proved that by beating Real Madrid, Barcelona, etc. and Mourinho never beat Benitez in the Champions League. Chelsea had the better squad but somehow Benitez found a way to neutralize the opposition.

Much will depend on how much money Roman gives Mourinho to spend because the present squad isn’t good enough to win the title or Champions league.